The fight of their lives

Born to an impoverished family that herded cattle for a living, nestled deep in the lofty mountains of Sichuan province, Sumudaerji has been conditioned to fight for survival since he was little, particularly against the poverty hampering his home village in the southwestern province's Aba Tibetan and Qiang autonomous prefecture.

So, when that fight takes him to the Octagon, against vicious strikers, boxers and wrestlers from around the world, the 29-year-old mixed martial artist from the Tibetan ethnic group faces it with confidence.

The emerging flyweight contender, known as "The Tibetan Eagle" in the ring, turned heads at the recent Ultimate Fighting Championship's Fight Night in Shanghai by putting his ferocious combat skills, as well as the gritty collective character of his people, on full display on the center stage of MMA.

Led by Sumudaerji, all the five Chinese winners, from the Fight Night's main event on Aug 23 in Shanghai and those from the pre-event Road to UFC semifinals, hail from underprivileged backgrounds and the country's minority groups, underlining the surging power of China's ethnic talent within the Las Vegas-based MMA promotion.

A proud representative of his folk culture, Sumudaerji — called "Sumu" by friends and fans — danced to Tibetan music on the way to the Octagon at the packed Shanghai Indoor Stadium, drawing strength from his origins ahead of his bout against Peruvian striker Kevin Borjas, Sumu's ninth under the UFC banner.

Three rounds of brutal exchanges later, out-striking Borjas via a convincing unanimous decision to improve his win-loss record to 18-7 and punch his way back into flyweight title contention, he celebrated wildly while wearing a hada, a traditional Tibetan white silk scarf symbolizing auspiciousness.

"I think it was huge motivation, not just for rebooting my own career, but also inspiring young fellas from our ethnic group who've grown interested in MMA since watching us fight the first time," said Sumu, the first MMA athlete from the Tibetan ethnic group to be signed by UFC in 2018.

Sumu's younger compatriots Yi Zha, Rong Zhu and Sulangrangbo, hailing from the same prefecture, all won their respective bouts at the Shanghai Fight Night.

By securing his second straight win this year, Sumu has come back strongly from a career-threatening three bout skid and put his name back among the title challengers in the 125-pound (57kg) division.

"There are, for sure, pressures, but it's a privilege to be a role model for young kids, and this gives me more strength to fight through every challenge.

"Born into poor living conditions, I would've been satisfied with a bowl of rice, and I didn't have many (career) choices until I picked up the sport.

"Now that I am fighting on the biggest stage, representing my country and my people with some of my childhood buddies, it's my wildest dreams coming true."

And the dreams were hatched in perhaps the most unlikely of places.

The founder of a makeshift gym, built in an abandoned warehouse in the western suburbs of Chengdu, the Sichuan provincial capital, took Sumu and his peers under his wing in 2010. Gym owner, Enbo, also a native of Aba, decided to offer free-of-charge sanda (Chinese kickboxing) training and accommodation to orphans and impoverished children from his home prefecture.

The gym, refurbished into a better-equipped facility in 2012 and named Enbo Fight Club, has since developed into one of the most productive cradles of MMA prospects in China, thanks to Enbo's commitment to the sport and his unremitting efforts in helping underprivileged youth with MMA training.

A longtime sanda enthusiast, Enbo is considered an adoptive father to the likes of Sumu, Yi Zha and Rong Zhu.

Many of the young trainees enrolled at the club come from underdeveloped rural areas in Sichuan province and hail from China's ethnic groups.

"Without our foster father, I wouldn't be here, not to mention making my name on such a high-profile global stage," said featherweight contender Yi Zha, who delivered the host's opening win with a first-round KO of Westin Wilson of the United States in the third bout on the Shanghai event's preliminary card.

"Now that I've got back to winning ways, I won't hesitate to pursue my goal of fighting my way up the division ranks," said the 28-year-old, who came back from a tough unanimous decision loss to Gabriel Santos a year ago.

Despite its esteemed reputation within MMA circles, Enbo's club was caught up in a controversial media storm, as allegations of "illegally stripping school-age children of compulsory education" were raised against it in 2017 after video clips of his teen fighters boxing against each other at a local fighting show went viral on social media.

After an investigation by local government and police, some children were sent back to their home villages, while the majority of young athletes opted to stay at the club. It later received certification as an official branch of the Aba prefecture sports school and was able to offer compulsory primary and secondary school classes with support from the local education bureau.

Sumu, citing the pride of representing his humble hometown and his club, said he wants their stories to send a message.

"Hold on to what your passions are, no matter what. It's easy to get interested in something, but it takes a lot of effort to build it into a career," he said.

sunxiaochen@chinadaily.com.cn